The Sioux Center City Council on Monday reviewed, and approved a bid to add local electric generation. At the last council meeting, a public hearing was held on the furnishing diesel generating equipment project. The City accepted a bid from Zeigler, Inc. in the amount of 10-point-2 million dollars. ($10,240,575.24). The project consists of furnishing 4 new diesel engine generators, with related equipment. The generators would eventually be housed near Sioux Center’s north power substattion.
City officials say that adding local generation would help sustain affordability in Sioux Center’s power portfolio and also provide emergency power in an extreme situation in which power supply was cut off to Sioux Center. In that situation, this generation would partially power the town.
Sioux Center’s power provider, Missouri River Energy Services (MRES), has increased how much they pay members like Sioux Center to construct and have generation ready to use. MRES participates because they can then call on that generation when electricity is limited or very expensive on the entire grid, reducing their overall cost to provide energy to all members, which in turn benefits members like Sioux Center.
The project will be funded primarily by MRES over 30 years. Ultimately, payments from MRES will cover most of the total project cost – including 30 years of operating costs.
The generators would potentially arrive in Sioux Center around mid-2027. The generators have at 20 to 30 year life expectancy.
In other action at its Monday meeting the council set a public hearing for Oct 31 to consider a request to rezone the Country View Heights North Third addition. Developers have submitted a request to establish a plat, and rezone the development from AG, to R-1, single-family residential. The intent of a single-family residential district is to provide low to medium density residential development. This development is located north of the Country View Heights North Additions.
